In the wake of a smear campaign against Planned Parenthood — one of the nation’s largest healthcare service providers for women (as well as men and youth) — the Senate voted last night on a bill that would have prohibited federal funds from going to the organization. That bill received 53 yea votes to 46 nay votes, 7 short of the 60 needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster, effectively defeating the proposed measure.

Over the past few months, a new tactic has emerged in the conservative Right’s war against women’s reproductive health — a war that has seen pro-life activists winning incremental advances in ending choice and limiting abortion access by making the process of obtaining a legal abortion increasingly arduous through senseless restrictions. Over the last year, for example, several states have passed laws banning sex-selective abortions; yet, these restrictions unnecessarily require doctors to rigorously interrogate women for their reasons for getting an abortion, and further prevent the practice in states where abortions at the age when fetal sex can be first determined are already illegal. In addition, such bans have been passed on the basis of openly racist anti-Asian and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

There is a overwhelming belief — rooted in part in the Model Minority Myth — that abortion is not an Asian American issue because Asian American women do not seek or receive abortions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although Asian American women represent a small fraction of all women who receive abortion services, the abortion rate among Asian American women remains among the highest for women of any race or ethnicity: in 2000, 35% of Asian American pregnancies ended in abortion. Efforts to limit abortion access will affect many patients — among them women of colour, lower-income women, and trans-men; we mustn’t forget that Asian American women are also severely impacted by these anti-choice efforts.

It is baffling to me that the Right continues to wage a war on women’s reproductive healthcare, and clinics that provide these services to women. Not only are abortions legal, but the bulk of the services provided by clinics like Planned Parenthood — contraceptive care, breast exams, STD screening, and sex education — are, quite simply and incontrovertibly, beneficial. Reflecting this, 63% of Americans oppose defunding Planned Parenthood.

In recent weeks, multiple videos have surfaced showing Planned Parenthood Federation of America senior personnel and other employees describing how they actively engage in illegal partial birth abortion procedures and conduct these abortions in a manner that leaves body parts intact so that they can later be sold on the open market.

In fact, the non-profit sale of fetal tissue is legal with the consent of the patient. More importantly, it is a vital source of valuable material for biomedical research. Cell lines obtained from fetal tissues are critical for the study and the eventual development of regenerative treatment for a broad range of diseases, including but not limited to macular degeneration, spinal cord injury, stroke and leukemia. While I would agree that the sale of fetal tissue should be more tightly regulated, I take this position in recognition of the law’s failure to prohibit distributors from charging exorbitant processing fees for access to donated fetal material, which openly flouts restrictions against earning a profit from these samples.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is currently running to represent the Republican Party in next year’s presidential election. If this announcement is any indication, a Jindal administration would be intensely hostile to women, as well as many other marginalized groups. This cannot stand. I urge you to take the next year and hold Jindal accountable for yesterday’s announcement to defund Planned Parenthood, as well as Jindal’s many other problematic statements and positions. #AskJindal to account for his stance against abortion access and reproductive rights. Demand an accounting from the Jindal campaign on these and other issues in upcoming debates and campaign appearances. Don’t let this slide.

In the unlikely event that Bobby Jindal is nominated by Republican voters to represent the party in next year’s presidential election, he would be the first Indian American presidential candidate to represent either major American political party. Until that time (if it is to come to pass), Jindal has a massive platform by which he will be influencing American political debate. This is our chance as Asian Americans to really get into this debate, and to unrelentingly hold Bobby Jindal’s feet to the fire for his regressive and problematic positions and actions.

I haven’t yet endorsed anyone for the 2016 presidential race, but it’s probably pretty safe to say I won’t be endorsing Bobby Jindal.